Warning: Use of undefined constant referer - assumed 'referer' (this will throw an Error in a future version of PHP) in /usr/home/essaywo/public_html/essays on line 102

Warning: Use of undefined constant host - assumed 'host' (this will throw an Error in a future version of PHP) in /usr/home/essaywo/public_html/essays on line 105

Warning: Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /usr/home/essaywo/public_html/essays:102) in /usr/home/essaywo/public_html/essays on line 106

Warning: Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /usr/home/essaywo/public_html/essays:102) in /usr/home/essaywo/public_html/essays on line 109
Song Of Myself - Papers Online

Song Of Myself

Through his poetry, Whitman's "" makes the soul sensual and makes divine the flesh. In Whitman's time, the dichotomy between the soul and the body had been clearly defined by centuries of Western philosophy and theology. Today, the goodness of the soul and the badness of the flesh still remain a significant notion in contemporary thought. Even Whitman's literary predecessor, Emerson, chose to distinctly differentiate the soul from all nature. Whitman, however, chooses to reevaluate that relationship. His exploration of human sensuality, particularly human sexuality, is the tool with which he integrates the spirit with the flesh.
Key to this integration is Whitman's notion of the ability of ...

Want to read the rest of this paper?
Join Essayworld today to view this entire essay
and over 50,000 other term papers

expresses Whitman as a being of desire and libido.
Whitman begins his synthesis of the soul and body through sexuality by establishing a relative equality between the two. He pronounces in previous stanzas, "You shall listen to all sides and filter them from yourself," and, "Not an inch nor a particle of an inch is vile, and none shall be less familiar than the rest." Here, he lays foundation for the basic egalitarianism with which he treats all aspects of his being for the rest of the poem. This equality includes not only his sexuality, but in broader terms, his soul and body. In the opening to section five, Whitman explicitly articulates that equality in the context of the body and soul: "I believe in you my soul, the other I am must not abase itself to you, And you must not be abased to the other." He refutes the moral superiority of the soul over the flesh historically prevalent throughout Western thought. With that level groundwork established, he is free to pursue the ...

Get instant access to over 50,000 essays.
Write better papers. Get better grades.

Already a member? Login

CITE THIS PAGE:

APA
MLA
Chicago
Turabian

Song Of Myself. (2004, April 26). Retrieved November 28, 2024, from http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Song-Of-Myself/6855

"Song Of Myself." Essayworld.com. Essayworld.com, 26 Apr. 2004. Web. 28 Nov. 2024. <http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Song-Of-Myself/6855>

"Song Of Myself." Essayworld.com. April 26, 2004. Accessed November 28, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Song-Of-Myself/6855.

JOIN NOW

Join today and get instant access to this and 50,000+ other essays

PAPER DETAILS

Added: 4/26/2004 10:40:03 AM
Category: English
Type: Premium Paper
Words: 1230
Pages: 5

Save |

Report

SHARE THIS PAPER

SAVED ESSAYS

Save and find your favorite essays easier